You Shouldn't Be Friends With Them

Ahhh, over protective parents use this line frequently when you have a friend that they don't particularly like for some reason.

It irritates me when I've been hearing this quite a bit, or something along the lines of; "I don't want you to be friends with someone like that."

Um, hello? Since when do you get authority of who I am and am not friends with? It's not like I'm going to be influenced by them. It's not like I'm going to do what they do. I am my own person and I am perfectly capable in making the right choices.
So, when my mother told me that I shouldn't - it wasn't actually a demand, it was more discouragement - be friends with a boy in my media class because he does drugs, drinks, etc, I was sooo tempted to tell her where to go.

And also, my brother graduated last year and he's been with the same group of friends for almost three years now. Within a year and a half some of the group has started doing drugs, one sells drugs and within the last six months some of the guys who didn't touch drugs split from the group.
My brother and a couple of others are the only ones who wouldn't dare touch any of that. Yet, my mother, being as protective and bossy as she is encourages him not to be friends with them. I'm sure most of you can just imagine the tone of voice that a mother would use when saying that.

She knows us - at least I think she knows us. But she is also judgmental. She doesn't understand that these people are actually good people, they don't pressure you into doing anything that they do, you have good intellectual conversations with them, you actually enjoy your company with them and they enjoy your company too, they're friendly... etc.

Anyway, thank you for trying to look out for me, mother. I know you're only trying to look out for me but I am perfectly capable in making my own choices. Trust me.